Prosperity Meter

A couple of weeks ago my friend, Gary Schmidt, forwarded me an entry from the Abundance Blog at Marelisa Online (http://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com/)  This is a great blog – check it out!  Here’s an extract from that entry:

Keith Cameron Smith explains in  The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class that millionaires think long-term, while everyone else thinks short-term. He breaks society down into five groups, and explains how each group thinks:

1.       The very poor think day to day.

2.       Poor people think week to week.

3.       The middle class thinks month to month.

4.       The rich think year to year.

5.       The very rich think decade to decade.

The very poor and the poor seek to survive; the middle class seeks comfort; and the rich and the very rich seek freedom.

The author adds that the middle class wants instant gratification: whatever they want, they charge it on their credit card or make a down payment with the intent of paying out the balance later on. After all, they’re focused on comfort. The rich put freedom ahead of gratifying immediate wants. It’s this long-term thinking that allows them to pull ahead.

The author was referencing financial wealth, but what about other types of wealth?  After all, money isn’t everything.  What about health wealth?  Or career wealth?  Can you think of ways to apply these same concepts to those important dimensions of your life?

It’s easy to see how this prosperity meter applies to health.  When my Dad was in the hospital he was on life support for the final three weeks.  It was truly day-to-day survival for him until the end.  Very, very poor health.  I acknowledge that I’m instant gratification girl when it comes to my daily diet and exercise habits.  I don’t have any serious issues other than being out of shape and too heavy – at least not yet.  But when I read the Abundance blog entry, it hit me:  I’m living on borrowed time. I need to get a grip on this aspect of my life before I slip down a notch on the meter.  I need to start adopting the behaviors of someone who is rich in health, putting off my immediate wants (pizza, ice cream, and a nap...) for long-term benefits.

What about your career wealth?  Over the past month or so I’ve spoken with multiple clients who were so burned out by their jobs they were struggling to get themselves to go to work the next day.  It was a struggle just to make it through the week until the weekend.  Many other people I know have jobs they don’t enjoy, jobs that don’t challenge them or enable them to utilize the best of themselves.  They’ve gotten comfortable with just showing up, and then they stay in those jobs year after year because of that comfort and the money.  People with rich careers have annual goals they’re working on.  They're pushing themselves and taking risks to get that next promotion or start their own business.  The truly career wealthy have a multi-year career plan.

What about you?  How many aspects of your life can you apply this framework to, and where do you fall on the meter?  Regardless of the answer, what steps can you take to begin the process of moving up a notch towards wealth whether it’s financial, health, career or any other dimension.